The Dragons seem to be the home for returning Welsh exiles with Hibbard and Moriarty from Glaws and now Faletau/Lewis from Bath returning. They will have a pretty decent team at this rate. Faletau has shown glimpses of his skills/talent in the BB&W and I hope we get more out of him in the next 18mth...

No great surprise here, I think we will have to anticipate that Todd will be off once his contract is up, and unrelated to that we will see an exodus of our stars, JJ AW, etc as we are no nearer winning anything domestically or in Europe than we were when they all joined.

Not sure about the mercenary label but it does make you wonder, there was a strong feeling at the time that it would benefit his game. Dragons are rebuilding and look to be amassing a strong group of players.
Fortunately we have some good strength in depth in that area, Faletau was a Mike Ford signing so perhaps he didn't get what he expected. You would have expected a signing like TF would have been a cornerstone to build on so I'm disappointed to hear this. You have to expect Mercer to become that talisman now and I expect to see them battling against each other at international level.
Problem is we could still have another 60k problem before he goes!

nick holderNo great surprise here, I think we will have to anticipate that Todd will be off once his contract is up, and unrelated to that we will see an exodus of our stars, JJ AW, etc as we are no nearer winning anything domestically or in Europe than we were when they all joined.

nick holderNo great surprise here, I think we will have to anticipate that Todd will be off once his contract is up, and unrelated to that we will see an exodus of our stars, JJ AW, etc as we are no nearer winning anything domestically or in Europe than we were when they all joined.

Why do you say that about Todd?

At present I can't see why he would want to stay, his best mate has gone and his team are more often than not "cr*p" according to his own words. I hope he stays but 2 years into his tenure are we really any better than we were before he arrived, and I have no idea of the pattern/structure he wants the team to adopt.

I would have hoped that TB saw the job as more than a 2 year project. I agree that TB must be a big loss to him but whilst we are clearly cr*p sometimes were are also very much on message at other times, eg Warriors.

He seems to have a good relationship with the players as well, I'd be interested to know what those who have the ear of the club think about his long term commitment.

shipwreckedI would have hoped that TB saw the job as more than a 2 year project. I agree that TB must be a big loss to him but whilst we are clearly cr*p sometimes were are also very much on message at other times, eg Warriors.
He seems to have a good relationship with the players as well, I'd be interested to know what those who have the ear of the club think about his long term commitment.

I accept we were on message against Wuss, but with respect to them they are 11th out of 12. We seem unable to be "on message" against the really top class opponents, Exeter, Wasps and Scarlets. And we were certainly not on message at home to both Glaws and Falcons. A;pert from the Toulon and Sarries matches at home when have we really pressurised a top team. I fear for the Saints home match as they seem to have found some form.

Hopefully Todd’s been given the chance to bring in some players before next season, I got the impression that his hands were tied last summer which is why we didn’t see the signings he said we were in the market for... I’m also hoping that’s the reason for the current clear out. If he isn’t given the opportunity to make his own signings then he’ll be off!

I think that's a bit pessimistic Nick. It feels like inconsistent, we've lost to the bottom of the table and beaten the top, so I don't think you can even say the problem is against top class opponents.

A few things bother me about Todd, and they may be subconsciously adding to a feeling he'll be off:

- We don't seem to have a consistent way of playing.
- I'm not sure whether or not the ball retention is part of a strategy or not, it's clearly only part of a solution and I don't see the other part emerging.
- The best, most consistent we've played recently was the early season when Todd joined us. Since then we've gone stale. I think that was too early for Todd and Tab to have had an impact. Our form has fallen off broadly in line with the time I would expect their impact to be felt.

Edit:

- Also, I'm bother by the fact he's got a track record of his teams not really adding up. Which is just what we seem to be doing.

I am torn as I really think we need to give a DoR a good run at the post. So, if we offer him a 10 year contract, great. If he goes of his own accord, I'll be ok about it.

Dan, I am of the same opinion ref Todd, he seems to have made a success of "nearly teams" I mean the Crusaders had an outstanding squad but seemed to fall short to often. I do hope he is allowed top bring in who he wants.

If I have a worry it is that TB is on his own, our early season form was when TB and TM where in partnership so as mentioned before I think he needs some help.

Unfortunately teams often go through a bumpy time around stadium development, I'm sure that managing a big project detracts from getting the team right. I hope he stays but whatever happens let's have someone there for longer than a 2-3 year tenure!

nick holderDan, I am of the same opinion ref Todd, he seems to have made a success of "nearly teams" I mean the Crusaders had an outstanding squad but seemed to fall short to often. I do hope he is allowed top bring in who he wants.

Yep, we all tip toe around the fact he’s never won anything even with Dan Carter and Richie McCaw...

Think Walesonline are pushing the limits of what may have been said, seems to me he is simply saying he is enjoying it at Bath, is committed to playing his best through his contract and will decide what next after this contract when the right time comes and what is available

I can't believe he was convinced Bath would win trophies. Even at our recent best, Mike Ford's penultimate season, we only looked like we could, with a bit of luck and good management, move into the position where we might have a shot at the AP (but even then the HEC was some development off).

I still haven't found out where all these players who insist on winning trophies are going to go?

DanWileyI can't believe he was convinced Bath would win trophies. Even at our recent best, Mike Ford's penultimate season, we only looked like we could, with a bit of luck and good management, move into the position where we might have a shot at the AP (but even then the HEC was some development off).
I still haven't found out where all these players who insist on winning trophies are going to go?

If they went onto one of the well known betting sites they could see the odds for each club, then go to that club. However, it changes every year and as the season goes on the odds change.

DanWileyI can't believe he was convinced Bath would win trophies. Even at our recent best, Mike Ford's penultimate season, we only looked like we could, with a bit of luck and good management, move into the position where we might have a shot at the AP (but even then the HEC was some development off).
I still haven't found out where all these players who insist on winning trophies are going to go?

In England it would be Sarries and Exeter with Wasps the most likely to join them in contending. If I were a top player they would be the only sides I'd consider playing for in England.

DanWileyI can't believe he was convinced Bath would win trophies. Even at our recent best, Mike Ford's penultimate season, we only looked like we could, with a bit of luck and good management, move into the position where we might have a shot at the AP (but even then the HEC was some development off).
I still haven't found out where all these players who insist on winning trophies are going to go?

Look, I think Mike Ford was a disaster as a man manager and is probably the reason our squad is so disjointed, but this is mealy nonsense, we were in the blooky final, he certainly gave us a shot at the AP. He then absolutely shat the bed, but still.

DanWileyI can't believe he was convinced Bath would win trophies. Even at our recent best, Mike Ford's penultimate season, we only looked like we could, with a bit of luck and good management, move into the position where we might have a shot at the AP (but even then the HEC was some development off).
I still haven't found out where all these players who insist on winning trophies are going to go?

Agree again Dan, he wanted a club to:

1) Pay him a decent wedge
2) Improve his game
3) Be close to home, S Wales

Playing for Wales is massively important for him.

Trophies would be a bonus, if he wanted trophies he could have gone to one of the West Wales regions for the Pro 12/14

What a non story! Are we going to speculate on all players as to what they are going to do in 18 months time or when their contracts end! A lot can happen in 18 months good or bad. What a lot of baloney!

DanchinhoDo the realists on the board think it's likely we'll re-sign both Faletau and Mercer?

In 18 months Mercer will be in direct competition with Faletau for the No 8 spot. This puts him in the same situation as Itoje was in at Sarries about a year ago. On that basis Itoje's contract made him a bargain.

The loss of Faletau will be a real blow if it is true and not a load of rubbish as mentioned by others above - but for us we have the best young 8 in England still here and so I don't see it being a humongous loss in a sense.

By then remember we will have a fit again Ellis, Zach Mercer, Flouw still presumably, Garvey, Grant and Underhill which is still not bad back row stock! Faletau for as superb as he has been for us has been very injury prone sadly and when he's not injured he's been with Wales - none of which is a fault of his!

It may be though that we look to reinvest his wages elsewhere given Zach's meteoric rise and tbh it may be best that we do given our struggles for consistency this year! I personally would like to see us sign a really good young team of AP quality players who are not yet at international level but who we can gel into a top unit instead. With Ellis, Mercer and Underhill we already have a hell of a back row unit for the future so let's put that money into centres or front row or a scrum half imo!

Assuming for a second that TF is happy here and would like to stay, I think it would an ideal situation. World class number 8 going into the latter phase of his career, young, very promising 8 who has already shown he can play at this level. Offer them both 3 year contracts. One learns from the other as over that period they transition from one to the other. Two year from signing look for the next, in this case very young, Zach.

It would cost money, but having that 8 position nailed for 3 years and a succession plan for beyond would be well worth it.

DanWileyAssuming for a second that TF is happy here and would like to stay, I think it would an ideal situation. World class number 8 going into the latter phase of his career, young, very promising 8 who has already shown he can play at this level. Offer them both 3 year contracts. One learns from the other as over that period they transition from one to the other. Two year from signing look for the next, in this case very young, Zach.
It would cost money, but having that 8 position nailed for 3 years and a succession plan for beyond would be well worth it.

I suspect that Taulupe is younger than you think - he has been around forever after all. In 18 months, he'll be 29, and looking at another 6 years for his career, not winding down over the course of 3. He'll, he'll be expecting another 2-3 years as being in his prime for a #8

No, that's about what I was expecting. Zach will be 22? So now we'll have the experienced Lion starting most matches, Zach starting AV, international and smaller games, possibly on the bench when TF starts.

Three years, Zach will be 25, coming into his prime and really expecting to start the big games and TF will be 32, starting to take the foot off the gas but more than capable still of filling in. At that point, resign TF if we can, but no big issue if he wants a pay off in Japan.

I think past 32 you're expecting a bit much to say this guy WILL be our first choice starting every big game and going on to 35 is by no means a certainty.

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